The present invention relates to a household device for storing, measuring and dispensing of granular and powder materials, such as for example coffee, baby formula, dried milk, non-dairy creamer, sugar, flour, detergents and the like. Some of such devices are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,455,970; 1,471,621; 1,904,756; 3,072,299; 3,185,190; 3,193,159; 5,421,491.
The device disclosed in the above-mentioned patents can be further improved.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide device for storing, measuring and dispensing granular and powder materials which is a further improvement of existing devices.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide for device which is compact, convenient to handle, and provides storage, measurement and dispensing of powder and granular material.
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a device for storing, measuring and dispensing granular and powder materials, comprising a container for accommodating a material; and a dispensing unit connected to said container, said dispensing unit including a casing provided with a filling opening communicating with an interior of said container and a dispensing opening which is spaced from said filling opening and formed to dispense a material, a slide movable in a passage of said casing and having a side compartment formed so that when the slide is moved in said passage to a filling position said slide compartment coincides with said filling opening and when said slide is moved to a dispensing position said slide compartment coincides with said dispensing opening so that the material can be poured from said container through said filling opening into said compartment in said filling position, and then dispensed through said dispensing opening outwardly in said dispensing position, and spring means provided between said casing and said slide so that said slide is moved from said filling position to said dispensing position with overcoming a spring force and then is moved from said dispensing position to a storing position under the action of a spring force of said spring means.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.